Dalhousie University is breaking new ground in defence-focused materials science with advanced additive 3D printing technology.
The Halifax university has partnered with the Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) to develop innovative, made-in-Canada solutions that can extend the life of the Navy’s submarine fleet and strengthen the country’s domestic defence capacity.
The initiative focuses on advanced additive manufacturing — an industrial-grade form of 3D printing — to produce critical submarine parts and, just as importantly, the processes needed to make them.
“We’re not just printing parts,” said Dr. Paul Bishop, a materials engineer at Dalhousie and lead researcher on the project. “We’re building the scientific and industrial foundation that will allow Canada to support its naval platforms independently and more cost-effectively.”
Dr. Bishop and his team are working to reverse-engineer highly specialized naval alloys that have never been explored for additive manufacturing, developing new methods to turn these materials into printable powders and determining the precise parameters needed to reliably produce replacement parts.
Cameron Munro, a defence scientist at DRDC’s Atlantic Research Centre, said one of the biggest hurdles is keeping equipment operational far beyond its original design life. If a component fails and the original manufacturer is gone, it means long delays and high costs to custom-build replacements.
The project is supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canada Foundation for Innovation, and industry collaborators.
“This project isn’t just about producing parts,” said Munro. “It’s about building long-term industrial capacity and allowing the Navy to own the R&D — so they’re not locked into one proprietary solution and can competitively source what they need.”
Rather than stockpiling costly spare parts, the vision is for the Navy to produce them on demand using proven processes developed by Dalhousie. That shift could reduce costs, shorten timelines and provide greater operational flexibility.
“We’re giving our defence partners the knowledge and tools to confidently implement these technologies at scale — helping ensure Canada’s Navy remains mission ready, while fostering a more self-reliant and responsive domestic supply chain,” said Dr. Bishop.
Advanced materials science and additive manufacturing techniques is a highly specialized approach to 3D printing. The method can form the most intricate designs directly from metal powders. Given these capabilities, it is increasingly employed by leading-edge manufacturers to fabricate jet engine parts, surgical implants, spacecraft components and many other items of exacting detail.
